Llamapedia:Personal Attack Policy
Personal attacks are not tolerated on any part of this wiki, whether it be blogs, message walls, chat, forums, or anywhere else. This page is a set of guidelines on how to identify a personal attack, and what is considered to be unacceptable. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to explain what a personal attack is, to establish that personal attacks are not acceptable, and to outline what action will be taken by administrators if users issue personal attacks. What is a personal attack? A personal attack is an insult or other form of abusive attack—a mean-spirited, rude, derisive or gratuitously negative remark about or to another user. Examples of personal attacks include, but are not limited to: *Negative comments about other users on basis of race, sex, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or ability. *Profanity directed at another user. *Comments deriding a project other users have invested effort in. *Threats of violence, such as death threats, or "I'm going to hurt you" comments. *Threats of vandalism or hacking. *Slanderous, libelous or calumnious statements directed against another user. *Assertions of superiority, such as "I'm better than you" or "you have no life". *Name-calling. *Attempting to dismiss or discredit users' views based on their affiliations. *Generalizing entire groups in order to criticize individual users. *Expressing contempt for another user. *Unnecessary hostile comments. Jokes Adding a tongue smiley or other emoticons or inserting "JK" after a comment does not make it okay. Even though you may view it as a joke it may still be viewed as derisive or derogatory by the user being joked about. If there is a good chance what you are about to say will offend someone, then don't say it. Death threats or other threats are not okay merely because they are "jokes". Sometimes it is very difficult to tell if someone is joking or not in online communication, and consequently all threatening comments are prohibited, regardless of intent or purpose. This section should not be construed to mean that jokes are not allowed; rather it is intended to encourage users to be careful to not make unkind joke at others expenses as well as making it clear that veiling personal attacks as "jokes" will not be tolerated. Furthermore, it should be noted that if two users insult one another with a mutual understanding that such actions are not hostile, and they do it for amusement, no warning is necessary unless the insults used are profane or their behavior violates policy in a different way. What are not personal attacks? Not every negative comment is necessarily a personal attacks. Constructive criticism, debating, and expressing disagreement with an idea are examples. Remember to criticize the idea, action, or attitude, not the person. Keep discussion limited to the content, not the users, when debating. Consequences of making personal attacks Users who make personal attacks on blogs, blog comments, forum comments, message walls or anywhere else on the wiki may be blocked by an administrator, depending on the severity of the personal attacks, how many were made, and if the user has made personal attacks in the past. Warnings will usually be issued for first time offenses, but the administrators reserve to block any user making personal attacks according to policy. Personal attacks on chat may result in the offender being warned, kicked, or banned from chat according to policy. Common sense Moderators and administrators should employ common sense when enforcing this policy. If no one is offended or hurt by something that might be a personal attack, and no disruption is caused by it, no action is necessary. This policy should never be used merely as an excuse to ban or block someone, nor should it be used to cause a problem where none exists.